Harley-Davidson Museum - Milwaukee, Wisconsin

[dmonkey]

Last weekend I visited the National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, Iowa which sparked my interest in revisiting the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Today was a nice drizzly day so I figured it would be a good time to go there and miss the crowds. A slow and scenic route up to Milwaukee from Chicago is to take LSD (Lake Shore Drive ) to Sheridan Road and then follow Sheridan (Illinois Route 137, Wisconsin Highway 32) until "DA BEARS" signs are all replaced with "GO PACK GO!". There are a lot of turns to keep an eye out for, but luckily it's part of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour, so there's plenty of signage to follow. I didn't know about the Great Lakes Circle Tour until 2016 when I joined a friend on this exact route for the first leg (and later the final legs) of a 'round America motorcycle trip he did on two Honda Shadows. The first Shadow didn't make it home, very out of character for a Honda. I think the highest posted speed limit along the route may have been 45 mph, so this stretch is suitable route for the Honda Trail. I'm on a Moto Guzzi V7 for this trip, but doing this section of the Lake Michigan Circle Tour gave me ideas for a Great Lakes Circle Tour on the Honda Trail... just what I need, more ideas to run with!

Same as most HD shops and other motorcycle museums there is dedicated parking for motorcycles at the Harley-Davidson Museum. For something to eat there's Motor Bar and Restaurant on-site, but there are better options within a 10-15 minute ride around the city. Admission to the museum is $22 for adults, discounts for seniors, students, military, and children. And of course there's a shop for branded apparel and collectibles.

Harley-Davidson Museum

The Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, WI, showcases the company's rich history and motorcycles through a variety of interactive exhibits. Plan your visit.

www.harley-davidson.com

Chicago to Milwaukee on Sheridan


My Goose in front of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin. The beach is covered in rocks, not trash... but further south the beach is trash.


The Hill Climber sculpture by Jeff Decker


Harley-Davidson Model 1 (and Serial No 1)


An American Postie hog


Same firearm mount position that was later popular on Hunter Cubs


Replica of Evel Knievel's crashed Wembley bike


Board track racers


Land-speed record knucklehead @136.183 mph

 

[dmonkey]

The Tank Wall, definitely one of the most popular and photographed displays


The blue and white bike is a Harley Davidson Topper, a 165cc 2-stroke scooter


If you think the Trail 125 is underpowered for 125cc, try the Hummer 125cc with 3hp


Replica of "Captain America" from Easy Rider, built by Cliff "Sonny" Vaughs and Ben Hardy


Dual knucklehead "King Kong"


Chicago Police Dept Servi-Car


Erik Buell restoring some performance to Harley Davidson with the Buell RR 1000 Battletwin


The last military "Harley", a British built MT500





Ewan McGregor's Harley LiveWire electric prototype that he rode 13,000 miles in Long Way Up

 

[fernf5]

Thanks dmonkey, I enjoyed the pics and info. There are 1/2 dozen or so motorcycle related museums in the eastern part of the country I'd like to see. This is one of them.

 

[Kev250R]

This is a must-stop for any gear-head who may be in the area! I found myself in Wisconsin maybe 12 years ago and made a 75 mile drive (each way) in the rain to see this place. It was well-worth the drive! Do they still offer a Factory Tour? That was the highlight for me was being able to go on a guided tour of the factory floor and stand 5-10' away from where the bikes were actually being assembled. I spent an afternoon there and at the time was the owner of a used HD so of course I bought all the swag I could carry LOL! Neat place and was a definite highlight of the week I spent in Wisconsin.

 

[dmonkey]

Unfortunately the factory tours were closed, I don't think they've restarted them since the pandemic began, same for many other factories and breweries I've been wanting to tour while traveling. The museum store did have great swag! I was expecting low quality eagle shirts, but they had some retro styled apparel made in the USA, pennants, and the Jason Momoa collaboration items looked cool. Very pricey though. Even on a drizzly day there were a fair number of folks on motorcycles there, I arrived just as Freddie Franklin was leaving on his newer "Skull & Crossbones" bike. His "Blackula" shovelhead is on display in the museum.